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Description
You knew bugs were inevitable.

Zephyr is the more human-looking one, the other is just a random entomorph ( male or female, who can tell? Worker caste, anyway. Yeah, my colours, because of because. )

Entomorphs are the natives of Tethys. They are also the only sentient alien race around besides the humans and Aquaans ( the Yogzarthu were from another universe and don't count. ) The universe has plenty of life but very little of it makes it to the intelligence stage - the last known spacefaring race vanished two and a half million years ago, and they hadn't met anybody to talk to. However, because entomorphs don't build, don't often bother with tools when anyone's looking, and can't speak in a way humans understand, they were thought to be just big bugs for fifteen years before someone caught on. After that, Port Tethys basically became a human reservation - no expanding, no exploiting non-renewable resources, no doing anything to harm the development of the entomorphs more than co-existing already does. They probably ought to have ditched planet completely, but figured after fifteen years the damage was done. The entomorphs are more than advanced enough to remember.

Entomorphs are just an accepted part of Tethyn life - they flit around, watch people, and don't do any harm. They will enter any unlocked door or window and poke through your stuff. ( Gilou's earliest memory is of being a toddler, playing with an entomorph that had slipped in through an open window. Partasah was quite fond of them and never locked the windows. ) They treat the city and its inhabitants as just another part of the landscape - a bit noisy, but unremarkable. Humans find them anything from nuisances to pretties like exotic birds to the guardians of Tethys - without a native species to protect, the place would eventually get completely paved over.

Culture-wise, the entomorphs are quite intelligent but never progressed beyond the hunter-gatherer stage because they neither need nor want to. The only ones anyone sees are the workers. The language is a mix of clicky buzzy noises and pheromones, which is why humans are hopeless at it. Entomorphs understand what humans are saying fine. They don't allow humans anywhere near their burrows and will politely but firmly escort any intruders out of their territory.

And what do insects do? They specialise. Zephyr is a caste unto herself - she calls herself a 'relay', and she was bred specifically to liase with those squashy biped things running around. She's the only entomorph who can speak human languages ( it seems to be some kind of Galactic Standard thing going on. Even if it started as English, after three thousand years, you wouldn't recognise it. ) She views humans as clumsy and noisy, beings to be tolerated because Mother Said So - they're not going away, so might as well be friendly.

Description
You knew bugs were inevitable.

Zephyr is the more human-looking one, the other is just a random entomorph ( male or female, who can tell? Worker caste, anyway. Yeah, my colours, because of because. )

Entomorphs are the natives of Tethys. They are also the only sentient alien race around besides the humans and Aquaans ( the Yogzarthu were from another universe and don't count. ) The universe has plenty of life but very little of it makes it to the intelligence stage - the last known spacefaring race vanished two and a half million years ago, and they hadn't met anybody to talk to. However, because entomorphs don't build, don't often bother with tools when anyone's looking, and can't speak in a way humans understand, they were thought to be just big bugs for fifteen years before someone caught on. After that, Port Tethys basically became a human reservation - no expanding, no exploiting non-renewable resources, no doing anything to harm the development of the entomorphs more than co-existing already does. They probably ought to have ditched planet completely, but figured after fifteen years the damage was done. The entomorphs are more than advanced enough to remember.

Entomorphs are just an accepted part of Tethyn life - they flit around, watch people, and don't do any harm. They will enter any unlocked door or window and poke through your stuff. ( Gilou's earliest memory is of being a toddler, playing with an entomorph that had slipped in through an open window. Partasah was quite fond of them and never locked the windows. ) They treat the city and its inhabitants as just another part of the landscape - a bit noisy, but unremarkable. Humans find them anything from nuisances to pretties like exotic birds to the guardians of Tethys - without a native species to protect, the place would eventually get completely paved over.

Culture-wise, the entomorphs are quite intelligent but never progressed beyond the hunter-gatherer stage because they neither need nor want to. The only ones anyone sees are the workers. The language is a mix of clicky buzzy noises and pheromones, which is why humans are hopeless at it. Entomorphs understand what humans are saying fine. They don't allow humans anywhere near their burrows and will politely but firmly escort any intruders out of their territory.

And what do insects do? They specialise. Zephyr is a caste unto herself - she calls herself a 'relay', and she was bred specifically to liase with those squashy biped things running around. She's the only entomorph who can speak human languages ( it seems to be some kind of Galactic Standard thing going on. Even if it started as English, after three thousand years, you wouldn't recognise it. ) She views humans as clumsy and noisy, beings to be tolerated because Mother Said So - they're not going away, so might as well be friendly.